Guard for dip tanks



May 19, 1936- M. J. ULINE GUARD FOR DIP TANKS 3 sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 28, 1934 M. J. ULINE GUARD FOR DIP TANKS May 19, 1936.

Filed April 28, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .WAAN/ May 19, 1936.-

M. J. ULINE GUARD FOR DIP TANKS Filed April 28, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED S ATENT GFFICE 13 Claims.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in guards for dip tanks used in ice plants, the object being to provide a guard which is so constructed that it is normally held in position to protect the tank, the construction being such that it will support one or more persons and yet will yield when a series of ice cans are deposited thereon so as to allow the cans to be submerged in hot water for freeing the ice in the cans.

A further object of the invention is to provide a guard which is exceedingly simple in construction and one which can be used in connection with any form of tank.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a guard which is normally supported in raised position by weights, means being provided for locking the guard in raised position so that it will not yield when a person steps on the same, whereby a iirm support is provided which thoroughly protects the tank so that the attendants of the ice plant can walk freely over the guard without any danger of yielding, thereby forming a positive guard for the tank to prevent the attendant from being injured.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a guard which is exceedingly simple and cheap in construction, the same being guided in its up and down movement by rollers.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof dened by the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a tank, partly broken away, showing the app1ication of my improved construction of guard thereto;

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan View of one end of the tank and a portion of the guard;

Figure 22L is an enlarged top plan View of a portion of the other en-d of the tank and guard;

Figure 3 is a vertical section of one end of a tank and guard;

Figure 311 is a vertical section of the other end 45 of the tank and guard;

Figure 4 is a detail vertical secti-on on line 4 4 of Figure 2au showing the guard in various positions;

Figure 5 is a detail section taken at right angles 50 to that of Figure 4 showing the guard in raised and lowered position; and

Figure 6 is a detail perspective View of one of the guides and the roller.

In the embodiment of my invention as herein shown, the dip tank I is formed of concrete and (Cl. G12- 113) has disposed at each end thereof pits 2 and 3 and while I have shown a tank constructed of concrete, it is, of course, understood that it can be formed of any suitable material, such as metal, and therefore I do not wish to limit myself to the use of any particular yconstruction of form of tank.

Disposed within the tank I adjacent each end on the opposing walls are substantially T-shaped angle irons l and 5, the heads of the angle irons being secured against the inner Wall of the tank and the stems extending outwardly at right angles thereto, which stems are provided with recesses 4 and 5 adjacent their upper ends adapted t-o receive rollers 6 and I carried by shafts 8 and 9 which are mounted in slotted brackets I 0 and Il carried by frame I2 having a foraminous cover I3 which forms a grill so as to thoroughly cover the tank as the frame I2 is of such a size that it substantially covers the tank, enough room being left around the edge so as to allow the frame to move up and down.

In the construction of the rollers 6 and 1 as herein shown, they are provided with collars 6 and I which work in the slots of the brackets I0 and I I and are carried by the shafts 8 and 9 in such a manner that they are free to move and as the ends of the cables are connected to the shafts 8 and 9, the friction is reduced so that the rollers travel freely against the iianges of the T irons 4 and 5 in such a manner as to thoroughly guide the frame in its up and down movement as will be hereinafter more fully described.

In the construction herein shown truss rods I4 are used to strengthen the frame, which truss rods have their ends connected to cross bars I5, the truss rods being provided with suitable turnbuckles for keeping the rods under tension in order to form a rigid frame, but it is, of course, understood that this is not essential as by increasing the weight of the frame, rigidity can be obtained.

In the particular construction herein shown, a cross bar IB connects the side bars of the frame I2 over shafts 8 and 9, which divides the foraminous covers into three sections, which is only one form of constructing the frame and therefore I do not Wish to limit myself to any particular manner of constructing the frame so long as the frame has rigidity and is provided with a foraminous covering so that the tank is thoroughly protected.

Disposed within the pits 2 and 3 are Weights I'I and I8, which are provided with pulleys I9 and 20 over which pass cables 2l and 22, the ends Cil being connected to the walls of the pits as clearly shown at 23 and 24. The cables 2| and 22 pass over pulleys 25 and 26 disposed on the top of the pits, then over pulleys 21 and 28 disposed in the ends of the tank I and have their ends connected to the rods 8 and 9, suitable guide members 30 and 3| being carried by the ends of the frame I2 so as to prevent the cables from moving laterally as the frame moves up and down.

In the manufacture o'f ice, a unit of cans composed of any number of cans is arranged in a frame and after being filled with water are lowered into a brine tank and allowed to remain until the `water is frozen and after the blocks of ice have been formed, a unit of cans is raised out o'f the brine tank and placed onto the frame of the guard and as the weight of the unit of the cans is suicient to overbalance the weights, the initial movement of the frame in its downward movement, raises the weights to allow the rollers to ride out of the recesses 4' and 5', and the cans are lowered into the tank I which contains hot water so as to free the ice blocks within the cans, whereby when the cans are raised again, the blocks can beV readily dumped out of the cans.

In the construction of guard as herein shown, the same is automatic in operation as it is normally held in raised position over the dip tank containing hot Water, which tank is generally arranged below the floor surface and the grill is arranged in the same plane as the floor so that the attendant of the ice plant can walk freely over the dip tank in handling the cans of ice as in the manufacture of ice, when the cans are raised from the dip tank, they are placed by a crane on a cradle which is rocked to allow the blocks to slide freely out of the cans.

The Weights I'I and I8 in connection with the locking means hold the frame in a raised position in such a manner that it does not yield until a predetermined weight is deposited thereon and as the rollers are normally held in the recesses 4 and 5', the frame is prevented from being raised above the floor level by the peculiar shape of the recesses 4 and 5 but is allowed to move downwardly by an excess weight as the initial movement 'forces the shafts laterally in the slotted brackets and as the weight forces the frame downwardly, the frames are guided by the rollers traveling against the stems of the T irons so as Y to positively guide the frame in its up and down movement and after a unit of cans has been placed thereon and released, the weight of the cans carry the frame downwardly into the bottom of the tank.

After the cans have been submerged in the hot water a proper length of time, the cans are raised and as they are raised, the guard follows the upward movement of the cans so that when the cans are lifted off the frame, the frame automatically returns to its normal position and is locked into that position until again released by the placing thereon of a unit of cans.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a novel form of guard for a tank which is automatically released by the weight of the cans but is normally held in a rigid position so as to allow one or more attendants to stand or to walk on the same without any danger of the same yielding.

While inthe drawings and specification I have shown and described certain details of construction of forming the guard frame and mounting the same, I wish it to be clearly understood that I do not wish to limit myself to any details of construction as my invention consists broadly in providing a guard frame 'for a dip tank which is provided with means for normally holding the guard in raised position so as to thoroughly protect the tank in connection with means for positively locking it in raised position whereby it will be held in a rigid manner under normal conditions and is released only when an excessive weight is placed thereon, such as the weight of a series of cans.

While in the embodiment of my invention I have shown a foraminous guard for a tank, I do not wish to limit myself to the use of any particular 'form of guard so long as it forms a cover for the tank to prevent the attendants from accidentally stepping within the tank. This guard also forms a cover for the tank to allow the attendants to walk freely over the tank without having to pass around the same in handling the ice cans.

In the operation of the guard in its up and down movement, the weights pull on the rods so as to hold the rollers against the stem of the angle irons to prevent the frame from wobbling in its up and down movement whereby I am able to provide a free moving guard which is counter balanced by weights and is provided with means for limiting the upward movement of the guard so as to hold it ush with the floor or top of the tank and with means for allowing the rollers to move laterally by excess pressure to free the guard and to allow it to move downwardly and this is accomplished by forming the recesses in the angle irons with inclined lower portions as clearly shown.

What I claim isz- 1. In a device of the kind described, a tank, guide members disposed in the wall of said tank, a frame carrying rollers slidably mounted against said guide members, cables connected to said frame, and weights connected to said cables for normally holding said frame in raised position.

2. In a device of the kind described, a tank, guide members disposed in the wall of said tank, a frame carrying rollers slidably mounted against said guide members, cables connected to said frame, weights connected to said cables for normally holding said frame in raised position, and means for locking said frame in raised position.

3. The combination with a tank, having T irons secured to the opposing walls thereof, the stems of the Ts being provided with recesses adjacent their upper ends, of a frame having a foraminous covering disposed in said tank, said frame being provided with transverse shaftsv carrying rollers working against the stems of the T irons and adapted to t within the recesses thereof and cables carrying weights normally holding said frame in raised position with the rollers within the recesses of said T irons.

4. The combination with a tank of a frame having a foraminous covering for closing said tank, cables connected to said frame, weights carried by said cables for normally holding said frame in raised position, and means for locking said frame in` raised position.

5. The combination with a tank, of a guard frame for said tank normally held in raised position, slidable and revolubly mounted rollers carried by said frame, means for receiving said rollers when said frame is in raised position and locking said frame in raised position and counterbalancing weights for said frame.

6. The combination with a tank having oppositely disposed guide members arranged therein, said guide members being provided with recesses, a guard frame slidably mounted in said tank provided with slotted brackets, shafts slidably mounted Within said brackets provided with rollers cooperating With said guide members and cables carrying Weights for normally holding said guard frame in raised position With the rollers in said recesses.

7. The combination with a tank, of guide members secured to the inner Walls of said tank adjacent to each end, said guide members being provided with laterally offset recesses, a guard frame mounted tc move vertically Within said tank having slotted brackets, rollers mounted Within said slotted brackets carried by transverse shafts and Weight operated cables connected to said shafts for normally holding said guard frame in raised position with the rollers within the recesses of said guide members.

8. A guard for tanks mounted to move up and down within said tank, Weights for moving said guard Within said tank and normally holding said guard in raised position and means for locking said guard in adjusted position Within said tank.

9. In a device of the kind described, a tank having an open top, a horizontally disposed counter balanced frame slidably mounted to move up and down in said tank and normally held in raised position to form a cover for said tank and means for yieldingly locking said frame in raised position.

10. In a device of the kind described, a tank having an open top, a non-removable counter balanced horizontally disposed frame slidably mounted in said tank and adapted to move up and down therein and normally held in raised position and means for yieldingly locking said frame in raised position to formil a cover for said tank.

11. In a. device of the kind described, the combination with a tank having an open top, of a non-removable horizontally disposed guard slidably mounted to move up and down in said tank, means for normally holding said guard in raised position to form a. cover for said tank and additional means for yieldingly holding said guard when in raised position.

12. A device of thekind described comprising a tank having on open top, a horizontally disposed guard mounted to move up and down in said tank and yielding means for normally holding said guard in raised position to form a cover for said tank and to allow said guard to yield under predetermined Weight.

13. A guard for openings comprising a horizontally disposed frame mounted to move up and down in said opening, means for normally holding said frame in raised position to form a cover for said opening and additional yielding means for holding said frame when in raised position to allow said frame to yield under a predetermined Weight.

MIGIEL J. ULlNE. 

